Oil prices volatile after Trump's Strait of Hormuz threat
· Axios
Oil prices remained well north of $100 per barrel after markets opened Sunday, with the Iran war moving into its fourth week.
Why it matters: The price suggests that traders don't see a near-term end to the conflict, or risks to oil transit in the Strait of Hormuz that's throttling supplies on an unprecedented scale.
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- It's the first major trading since President Trump said Saturday night that Iran has 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or else the U.S. will start destroying the nation's power plants.
The latest: The global benchmark Brent crude initially rose into the $113 range before dipping slightly on Sunday evening.
- However, the price was little moved from Friday's close and was up roughly 55% from levels just before the U.S. strikes on Iran began.
- WTI, the main U.S. reference, is close to $99 and the average U.S. gasoline price was inching closer to $4 per gallon, at $3.94 Sunday per AAA tracking.
Catch up quick: Trump said Friday he's considering "winding down" the war with Iran without solving the crisis over the Strait's de facto closure.
- Former Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette told Axios he thinks prices will come down soon once the war ends.
- "If it ends in the next couple of weeks, and I think we're going to see what everybody is forecasting — and I think they happen to be right — oil prices are going to drop pretty quickly," said Brouillette, who served in Trump's first term.
What we're watching: The uncertain and evolving multinational talks around trying to secure safe passage for oil tankers and other ships through the Strait.
- NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told CBS News on Sunday that 22 countries — mostly in NATO but also Japan, Australia, the UAE and others — are working on a U.K.-led initiative to secure the waterway.
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